Endless-track vehicle



Nov., 1K1, 1924 1,515,167 0,5. PENN ENDLESS TRACK VEHICLE 'F11-ed April17 v1923 4 sheetsfsheet Nov. 11,1924- `O.` PENN' ENDLESS TRACK VEHICLEFiled April 17; 192B 4 sheets-sheet s N0v11,1924. 1,515,167 C. S. PENNENDLES S TRACK VEHI CLE 'Filed April 17, 1923 4 sheetsfsheet 4 PatentedNov. 11, 1924.

OSCAR STYLES PENN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO ROADLESS TRAOTION,

LIMITED, 0F LONDON, ENGLAND, .A CORPORATION OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRE-LAND.

ENDLESS-TRACK ITEI-IICLE.

Application filed April 17, 1923. Serial No.1632,619.

To all whom t may concern:

4 Be it known that I, OSCAR STYLES PENN, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Wadsworth Common, London, England, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Endless-Track Vehicles, of whichthe following lis a specifition.

This invention relates to motor vehicles of the class in which endlesstracks or tractor belts carried by driving and idle pulleys areemployed, and the principal object of the invention is to provideimproved means for supporting and guiding or steering the vehicle.

Vehicles of this kind have heretofore been supported by bogie wheelsresting on tractor' belts which are laterally flexible, and in suchvehicles the belts have been bent or flexed laterally for steering andother purposes.

According to my invention I provide novel means which engage the lowerruns of the belts and which are connected with devices for shifting themlaterally in such manner as to bend the belts in thev desireddirectionand to thus steer the vehicles. Preferably I employ for thispurpose wheels or rollers which engage the belts and which are mountedon arms connected with rock shafts provided with suitable opera-tingmeans. The mechanism is such that thevehicle may be steered whentraveling in either direction, and the body supporting devices are suchas to vallow perfect freedom of movement of' the belts both verticallyand laterally to accommodate varying conditions. Y

My improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which-Figure l is a side elevation of an endless track vehicle embodying myimprovements.

Figure 2 is a transverse section on the line 2--2 of Figure 1 looking inthe direction of the arrows.

Figure 3 .is a section showing one of the body-supporting devicescomprising a bogie wheel or roller so mounted that it may movevertically and laterally and also pivot about a vertical axis. y

Figure 4, is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the bogie wheel inlaterally moved position.

Figure 5 shows a vertical sectio-n on the line 5-5 in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a plan view of parts of the mechanism partially illustratedin section in Figure 5. l

Figure is a detail view on an enlarged scale of certain clutch mechanismthatis used.

Figure 8 is a vertical section of one. of the bod -supporting deviceswhich, while mounte to move vertically, and to pivot abouta verticalaxis, has no lateral` movement. a

Figure 9 is another detail viewv of the body-supporting device shown inFigure 8.

Figure 10 is a detail view, illustrating one form of track engagingwheel or roller that may be employed,

Figure 11 vis a diagrammatic view, illustrating the arrangementlofj thebogie wheels, the Wheels as shown as hatched being wheels that arepivotally mounted but have no lateral swinging movement." i i i 1 l,

Figure 12 is a diagrammatic view, illus'- trating how the tracks arebent for `-steering purposes and how two .of the bogie wheels, whilemovable pivotally about a vertical axis, have no lateral swingingmovement.

My invention maybe applied to endless Y beneath the oor of the body tosupport the bogie wheels hereinafter described. The sprocket pulleys C,C', as shown, yarel mounted in bearings on the sub-frame B and thesepulleys supporty endless tracks or tractor belts D a of suitableconstruction, which are so made as to bend suitably to pass around thepulleys and also to bend or flex laterally. In order to thus enable thebelts to ybend both laterally and vertically I may employ -mechanism ofthe kind shown in U. S. ALetters Patent No.` 1,434,680,0f

Nov. 7, 1922, and No. 1,440,243 of Dec. 26, V

1922, granted to Roadless Traction Limited as the assignee of Georgelohn Back# ham. The details of construction arevnot illustrated but aremerely indicated.

lin order to sup ort the vehicle body on thetractor beltsl employ, oneach side of the vehicle, a plurality of bogie wheels orl rollers. `Someof these rollers are mounted to ymove both vertically and.V laterally aswell as about vertical axes while others are mounted to move verticallyand about vertical axes `but have no lateral swinging movement, or onlya limited lateral movement. All of the rollers, as shown in Figure l,have upwardly extending posts carrying at their upper ends' rollers Eover which extends a rope, cable or chain F attached at one endf to abracket on the sub-frame B and at the other end to a spring G. This ropesuspension is now of Well known construction and operation. The rope orcable F extends under rollers H, carried in' brackets projectingupwardly from the sub-frame B and bythe construction shown, as will bereadily understood, the vehicle body is yielding-ly supported. The bogierollers marked ,ll on each side of the vehicle are so mounted that theymay move vertically; may also move about a vertical axis and inaddition4 have av laterally swinging-.movement. Fach of such rollers ismounted in the manner shown in Figures 3 and 4. Fach roller is journaledin the bifurcated end of a support K, arranged within 4a housing L insuch manner as to permit it to rock sidevvise.- This housing is formedwith a vertically extending boss Z which extends into and is free toturnin a 'sleeve M mounted in the main frame yB. This sleeve carries, atits upper end, a roller E which engages the rope or cable F in themanner bel fore described. An inspection of Figures ,till

3 and d. will show that the roller with the sleeve M may move verticaliinthe frame B. The roller with the'housing L may turn about a verticalaxis'byreason of the pivotal connection of theboss Z with the sleeve andthe roller -may swing vlaterally with the track l) by reason of theconstruction of the roller support ligand its arrangement in the housingL. lt will be observed that the support K has a rounded upper portionwhich engages the upperl'part of the housing L and it has laterallyprojecting arms which hold it in properl relation with the housing.

.As before stated rollersmounted in the manner indicated in Fi res 3 andd are used on op osite sides o the machine, and ll also em oyother bo ierollers marked N, N whic are mounte to move vertically relatively to thevehicle body and to turn about a vertical axis but they have nolaterally swinging movement or only a limited lateral movement.These'are what. l call control rollers as they control the bendingoperation in the manner indicated diagrammatically in Figure l2. Themountings of these rollers are shown in Figures 8 and 9. Each roller ismounted in la sup ort n, the upper end of which is enlarged andcontained within a housing a having a vertically extending boss n3projecting into and free to turn in a sleeve ns mounted to movevertically in the main frame B. Flach sleeve n3 carries a roller Esimilar to those before described over which the rope -or cable Fextends in the manner indicated in Figure 1. These rollers N, N', asindicated in the diagram, Figure 12, are preferably not moved laterallyout of line with the driving and idle pulleys C, C while the rollers dilare so mounted that the may move laterally in the manner in icated. Thebest results are obtained by employing control rollers operating in themanner above described.

lin the drawings T have shown live rollers J adapted to move laterallyand two rollers N, N which have little or no lateral move ment, but thenumber and arrangement may be modified without departing from theinvention. p v When the vehicle body is sup orted in the manner abovedescribed,.the ogie wheels J have perfect freedom of movement with theexible tracks While the bogie wheels N, N lcontrol the bending thetracks.

l have provided novel mechanism for steering the vehicle by bending thetracks laterally .or laying them down in a curve. For this purpose llprovide track-bending devices which may be operated by the driver or inany suitable way so as to properly steer the vehicle in eitherdirection. Preferably l employ the mechanism shown in the drawings. At'one end of the vehicle on each side l provide a track-engaging roller Fwhich is mounted in a support p pivotally connected at p with an arm O,attached to a rock shaft B. At the other end of the vehicle l employsimilar devices, similarly lettered, attached to a rock shaft B. Theserock shafts are supported in brackets S suitably spaced and mounted onthe sub-frame B, and each of these rock shafts has a squared portion 7',r extending through a clutch member T, or T and each shaft B, B has acylindrical boss t, t arranged Within a clutch member T2. lt will beobserved that the bosses t, t are arranged end to end and the shafts Rand B may be turned independently. Fi ure 7 shows the clutch members T,T an T2 in., neutral position, the several members being 'disconnectedfrom eachother but either of themembers T, T may be made to operativelyengage the member T2 when desired. y lnvorder to rock 'eitherf one ofthe rock shafts l may employ suitable mechanism of Well known construe-f clutch member T2 Lemie? T2, which turns on the bosses t t is formedwith an arm TB connected by a link t3 to a bell crank lever t* ivoted toa bracket of the vehicle body an connected by a link t with vthesteering mechanism indicated at U. B operating the steering mechanismthroug the connections shown, the .central may be turned on the bossest, t and may thus turn lthe rock shaft R or R with which it lisconnected. When a rock shaft, such as the rock shaft R, is thus turnedit will move the arm O laterally in either direction. This will bend thetrack lwithwhich the arm is connected, in the manner indicated in Figure12. No positive turning movement is given to the arm O at the oppositeend ofthe vehicle but such arm follows the movement of the track, itbeing l understood that the bending of thetrack is controlled by therollers N, N which have no lateral movement while the rollers J followthe lateral movement of the track in the manner indicated in thediagram. In this way, by bending the track laterally or vlay'- ing itdown in a curve the vehicle can be properly steered and it may besteered when moving in either direction by properly setting the clutchmechanism.- In order to thus set the clutch mechanism I preferablyemploythe devices indicated in the drawings. By referring to Figure 7 it willbe observed that there is a sleeve V bolted to a rod W mounted to moveendwise in the brackets S and this sleeve V carries a fork fv, .the armsof which enter. annular grooves n in the clutch'members T, T. By movinthe rod Wen'dwise either the clutch mem er T or the clutch member T maybe made to engage the central clutch member T2. In order to move the rodW endwise I may employ a lever Y, the movement of which is controlled bysuitable detent mechanism and which is connected to a shaftW carryingarms lw, in turn connected to the rods W.. The construction andoperation is simple and is clearly indicated'in the drawings. A suitableendwise movement may be given to the rod W to shift the clutch mechanismto enable the machine to be properly steered when moving in eitherdirection.' l

In Figure 10 I have illustrated a wheel or roller forming part of the oerating mechanism which may be employe at P in Figure 1. In this casethe-'wheel has a tread portion .fr and side flanges a" which are movableindependently of the tread, theside anges being mounted to turn on thehub of the tread portion. By this construction the tread portion of thewheel and the side portions which move sidewise with the ltrack may beso mounted that they can revolve at different speeds in order that theside thrust may be dealt with as rolling friction instead of as slidingfriction which may occur when the flanges and tread are integral. The

wheels or rollers J, N and Nl may similarly constructed.

It will be observed byreference to yFi ure 1 that the operating rollersP engage t ose portions of the tractor belts at leach end which areraised above the ground so that' the tracks may be readily bentor flexedlaterally and the bogie wheels J will follow the tracks sidewise orlaterally when theyare thus bent.

While I havey shown preferred devices for carrying out my invention itwill bey understood that equivalent mechanism for some of the parts,well knownin the art, may be substituted. l y -I I claim as myinvention.

1. An endless track vehicle equipped with` track supporting wheels andlaterally flex- 1ble` tracks` and provided with means directly engagingthe lower runs only of the tracks for positively bending the trackslaterally.

2. An endless track vehicle equipped with track supportingwheels andlaterally flexible tracks, and provided with means directly engaging thelower runs of the tracks at points removed from the peripheries `of thewheels forb positively bendingv the tracks laterally.

- 3. An endless track vehicle equipped with track supportin Wheels andlaterally flex: ible' tracks, an provided with laterally movable bodysupporting devices engaging the lower runs of the tracks and laterallymovable means directly'engaging the lower runs only ofthe tracks, forpositively bending the tracks laterally.

4. An endless track vehicle equipped vwith track supporting wheels andvlaterally iiexible tracks and rovided with body supporting devices w ichare mounted to move vertically and to turn about vertical axes and toalso move laterallywith the tracks, and laterally movable means engagingdirectly the lower runs only of the tracks for positively bending thetracks laterally.

5,. An endless track vehicle comprising a vehicle body, laterallymovable tracks associated therewith, body supportingv rollers engagingthe tracks which are mountedto move about vertical axes and shift-laterally with the tracks cross-wise of the vehicle, and means directlyengaging the lower runs onlyfof thetracks lfor positively bending thetracks laterally.

6. An endless track vehicle comprising a vehicle body, laterallyflexible tracks associated therewith, vertically movable bodysupportingdevices engaging the lower runs of the tracks which are mounted to vmovelaterally with the tracks, andlaterally movable devices en aging thetracks for benaing them latera y.

7. An endless track vehicle comprising a vehicle body, laterally exibletracks assolll@ llo

lil@

ciated therewith, body-supporting devices opposite ends of the vehiclefor bending the tracks, and mechanism for operating the track-bendingdevices at either end of the vehicle.

9. An endless track vehicle comprising a vehicle body, laterallyflexible tracks associated therewith, laterally movable bodysupportingdevices engaging the tracks and connected with the vehicle body, andother body-supporting devices connected with the vehicle body which haveno lateral Inovement but which are mounted to turn about vertical axes.

10. An endless track vehicle comprising a vehicle body, laterallyflexible tracks associated therewith, body-supporting devices engagingthe tracks mounted to move about vertical axes and to move laterallywith the tracks, bodyesupporting devices interposed between those lirstmentioned mounted to turn about vertical axes but which have no lateralmovement, andmeans carried by the vehicle for bending the trackslaterally for steering purposes.

11. An endless tra-ck vehicle comprising a vehicle body, laterallyflexible tractor belts associated therewith, body-supporting devicesengaging the lower runs of the belts which are connected with thevehicle body and are mounted to move laterally with the tracks, to movevertically therewith and to1 turn about vertical axes, other bodysupporting devices engaging the lower runs of the belts connected with thevehicle body and mounted to move vertically vand to turn about verticalaxes without moving laterally with the tracks, and means carried by thevehicle body for bending the tracks laterall 1572. An endless trackvehicle comprising a. vehicle body, laterally flexible tracks associatedtherewith, body-supporting devices engaging the lower runs of the tracksand connected with the vehicle body, rollers engaging the track atopposite ends thereof,

laterally movable arms on which these roll"` ers are mounted, shafts towhich the arms are secured, clutch mechanism interposed between theshafts, and arms connected with the clutch mechanism for turning theshafts and for thus movingV the track-engaging rollers laterally.

13. An endless track vehicle comprising a vehicle body, laterallyflexible tracks, vertically movable body supporting devices engaging thelower runs of the tracks on which the vehicle body is supported, meanscarried by the vehicle for bending the tracks laterally comprising rockshafts carried by the vehicle and having arms carrying track engagingrollers having tread portions and side flanges which are movableindependently of each other.

14. An endless track vehicle comprising a vehicle body, endless tractorbelts associated therewith, body-supporting and track bending devicesconnecting the vehicle body with the lower runs of the tractor belts,said body-supporting and track bending devices being provided with trackengaging rollers having. tread portions and side flanges movableindependently of the tread portions.

15. An endless track vehicle equipped with laterally flexible tracks andwith track engaging members held against material lateralanovement whichengage end portions of the tracks between the middle part and the endportions thereof and aid in controlling the lateral bending of thetracks. 'Y

16. An endless track vehicle comprising l a vehicle body, laterallyflexible tracks, body supporting devices engaging the lower runs of thetracks and connected with the vehicle body and track engaging membershaving no material lateral movement which engage end portions of thetracks between the middle part and the end portions thereof and aid incontrolling the lateral bending of the tracks.

17. An endless track vehicle comprising a vehicle body, laterallyflexible tracks associated therewith, body supporting devices engagingthe tracks and connected with the vehicle body and other body supportingdevices connected ywith the vehicle body which have no material lateralmovement and which engage end portions of the tracks between the middlepart and the end portions thereof and aid in controlling the lateralbending of the tracks.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

OSCAR STYLES PENN.

